To the Vibrant

The party steps through the portal into the Vibrant. It’s similar to what they experienced when traveling to green glory, but significantly brighter. On the other side, the group stands exactly where they just were – but the trees surrounding them are larger, and more lush, than the trees on the material plane. There are flowers peaking out of the snow around the party. As the party reaches out and touches an icy-covered tulip it shatters, releasing a melodious, tinkling sound, and a giggle can be heard from farther down the path. The trail leads out in the same was as the trail on the material. Eventually it diverts left and right. Left reads to the ruined temple, and right leads to town.

The party sees eyes in the trees. The doll marches in place. Unsure of where the giggles are originating from, the group goes down the right path. Raziel flies up into the air, and he can see that there isn’t a town, but a series of stone buildings inside a large circle of stone. Back in the other way was a small clearing. He arrives back to the party, and it’s been thirty minutes. It doesn’t seem that time is working exactly the same here. They begin marching again, letting the enchanted doll take the lead. The road feels like a blanket of moss, and footsteps are quiet. The snow is less thick here than it was earlier – but it’s hardly any warmer. The little doll marches down the road, and eventually draws his sword. As the road strethces on the party runs into a work, where they can either go left, or straight. They go left, and after around two arrives they arrive back at a circle, and hear giggling from behind them. The party begins to hear telepathic whispers saying things such as, “they trusted him”, and “they don’t belong here”.

A Religious Experience… 

Exasperated, the party heads back to the fork and goes the other way. Veil is suddenly gone. She feels something pulling at her and walks off, arriving at a glade. The stars overhead are not of the material plane. There is no Farilis visible. The glade before her is a pure white, and the temple is well-constructed, and open to the air. In the center stands the basin from the material plane, but this time it is full. She approaches the basin, and the liquid within appears to be inky starlight. It’s clearly a temple to Uryll. Veil says a prayer before the basin and leans down to drink from the basin. As she tries to cup the water it falls from her hands as if it was starlight. Veil looks to the temple doorway, and someone stands there, looking at her. The female is naked. Her skin is black my all regards, a smooth obsidian color, and her features are elf-like. She stands a little over five feet tall. A sash over her waist covers her bottom half, but it’s easily seen through. She nods at Veil.

The woman says that’s she is in the Vibrant, and asks if it opened again. Her voice comes out in a language that Veil doesn’t understand, but she comprehends the words mentally. The woman then tells Veil that Haidra, who the party will find eventually, is taking the children. This person is Lucine, and she explains that the temple is as close as one can get to Uryll without meeting her directly. She has no intention on intervening on the children’s behalf. Lucine explains that Haedra likes to make jokes, and that she has two hydras, which protects the bridge. She goes on to say that something must have brought the planes closer together, so the portal opened.

Veil enters the temple and makes conversation with Lucine, who tells her that Rowan is who he says he is, and that he has visited that temple on the material on multiple occasions. Lucine is one of the faithful of this plane. She seems to favor Veil, who travels to a basin in the back of the room, and looks at the contents within. A woman takes her head and shoves it in the liquid. When Veil pulls her head back, the world is much clearer, and she can see within the temple. It’s much larger than she expected. Around her are various weapons, blades, and suits of armor. She can see countless lotus petals, and at the end if a large lotus spouting a black flame that’s absorbing the light. After spending some more time here, Veil returns to the party, and explains what happened.

Back on track – maybe? 

The party is back at the fork with a left or straight. They walk straight, and eventually arrive at a fork, taking the cobblestone road. The stone wall surrounding the town has been pushed past the bridge, which is wooden, and seems to be made of trees, though it is also damaged on this plane. The river looks like pure starlight. The tree bridge is flanked by two hydras, as Lucine said. The hydra on the left is five-headed, and the head in the middle is wearing a noose, which appears to have broken off from where it was anchored. The party approaches the hydras. A small female halfling walks towards the party. She has long, stringy vines for hair, and is goat-like, with a human torso and long claws. The exlpains that the children are for themselves, and that she’s saving them from the wretched world we live in. She has sixteen children here. After a frustrating conversation, the party tells her that they can stay, and then they go and enter into combat with the hydras. They dispatch them. Raziel lets his sword drink. As the party gazes across the battlefield, they see the remains of the noose, and proceed across the bridge. On the way, Veil stops to bottle star water from the river.

Wolves charge at the party, but stop running at them when they get about thirty feet away. They are large wolves – Shadow’s missing brothers. They go to the bridge and sit. The party approaches the gatehouse on the south wall, and as they get closer the wall gets taller. Under the gateway is Haedra, who puts her hand up and motions for the party to stop. She spreads her arms and large elementals of earth and ice appear. The party decides to leave, and she gestures downward, and the elementals leave. Haedra waves goodbyes. They try to entice the wolves to go with them on their exit, but the wolves do not want to leave.

Revelations 

The party walks until exhausted. Violet’s clothes move, and the prince jumps out, heading back towards the kids. The group eventually makes it to the portal, but notice they are being followed by something child-sized. A small toy soldier marches up to the group, leading a small human child around the age of eight. It’s Lucas! The prince writes in the ground that they kids came here because they were hurt. The party learns that the sparkly man is trying to find Mrs. H (presumably Haedra). This man wears a suit all the time, and lives outside of town. He has dark hair. Lucas understands that steps need to be taken for him to go back, and through conversation the party learns that the ‘sparkly man’ is Owen, and that he wants to bring eldria to the Vibrant to experiment.